Substack vs Userlist
Pricing
Substack: Free, 10% of paid subs
Userlist: From $99/mo
Description
Substack: The OG paid newsletter platform
Userlist: Email automation built specifically for SaaS
Pros
- Built-in audience discovery
- No upfront costs
- Simple and focused
- SaaS-focused (not generic marketing)
- Behavior-based campaigns
- Company-level tracking
Cons
- 10% cut is steep at scale
- Limited customization
- Pricier than generic tools
- Smaller ecosystem
Details
Substack pioneered the paid newsletter model. Founded by Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie in 2017. Free to start, they take 10% of paid subscriptions. Over 5M paid subscriptions on the platform. Great for writers who want zero setup friction.
Userlist is email automation that actually understands SaaS. Track users AND companies, trigger emails based on product usage, run onboarding sequences that adapt to behavior. Built by Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke specifically because generic email tools don’t get SaaS.
Verified
